PICKERING -- Residents of the planned Seaton development will have an easy time getting to Hwy. 407 thanks to a newly announced interchange planned for Whites Road.

On Nov. 14 the provincial and federal governments announced a joint $25-million investment to build a new Hwy. 407 interchange at Whites Road and Sideline 26 in north Pickering. The interchange will provide a direct link from the highway to the planned Seaton development, which will include more than 800 acres of employment lands providing a planned 30,000 jobs for up to 70,000 residents.

"Seaton is an absolutely critical area of future development for the city of Pickering,"said MP Chris Alexander.

"It is one of the bright spots in the bright future of the GTA, but the success of Seaton depends on the transportation corridor."

The project will be funded through the Provincial-Territorial Base Fund, with the provincial government overseeing the project, since much of the Seaton lands are provincially-owned.

"Once Seaton is developed we will work with the 407 to create this interchange for greater access to the highway in the community,"said MPP Joe Dickson."More than 40 years have gone into the development of Seaton and opening of the employment lands, and with this project residents and business will have highway access and greater connectivity."

Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said the announcement of the first key piece of infrastructure for the Seaton development means the long-gestating project is a"reality.

"This is very important because it's the beginning of servicing for the employment lands, it's extremely important we not become a bedroom community with another 60,000 people coming to us,"he said, noting he'd like to see Pickering's focus on environment, engineering and energy businesses expand to the employment lands, but is welcoming all businesses.

"I'd like to see high-end manufacturing, office space and it would be ideal if we had a provincial ministry located here,"he said."I see opportunities for anybody really, the financial sector, biochemical, pharmaceutical. The key message is the City of Pickering is open for business and we have exciting opportunities along the 407 corridor."

While several components of the Seaton development remain before the OMB, a key dispute between the Province and the Region of Durham on employment and population numbers for the development is set to be settled by the end of November after both parties resolved the issue. City staff estimates construction could begin in Seaton by 2015.

"We are shovel-ready,"Mayor Ryan said."Seaton is coming to fruition and it's coming rapidly."